1st Symposium of International Social Services Antalya, Turkey 2006

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1st Symposium of International Social Services
Antalya, Turkey2006
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Importance of preventive and protective social
services to eliminate domestic violence in
Azerbaijan

• Aytakin HUSEYNLI
• Baku State University
• Department of Social Sciences and Psychology
• Social Work Masters Degree Program

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(No Transcript)
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Azerbaijan

• Independent since 1991 gained independence from
  USSR
  
• Located in South Caucasus
• Borders with the Caspian Sea, Armenia, Georgia,
  Iran, Russia, Turkey and with a small European
  portion north of Caucasus range
  

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Azerbaijan

• Population is about 8 million
• GDP per capita is 4,700
• Infant mortality rate 79 per 1000 live birth
• Literacy rate is 98.8 male 99.5, female 98.2
• 528, 000 Internally Displaced People

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Overview of social services

• Current social protection system was inherited
  from the USSR
  
• Current social protection system includes
  economic and social benefits which are regulated
  by legislation
  

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Overview of social services

• Most of the current legislation on social
  services were designed during Soviets
  
• During the Soviet time the philosophy of social
  system was to create equality between people
  

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Overview of social services

• The purpose of social services are distribution
  of financial resources and help out people
  financially as it was during Soviets
  
• Social services to families are cash allowances
  to widowed, divorced women and families with
  children with disabilities
  

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Domestic violence

• 30 of Azerbaijani women suffer from physical
  abuse (research conducted by USAID, 2001 among
  7,660 women)
  
• 38 from verbal abuse (USAID, 2001)
• 10 from sexual abuse (USAID, 2001)

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Domestic violence

• Every year 100 women die or become handicapped
  because of domestic violence (Clean World, 2005)
  
• During last year (March 2004-March 2005)
  newspapers reported 520 cases of violence against
  women (Clean World, 2006)
  

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Domestic violence

• 129 cases (25) of mortality out of this number
• 85 cases were domestic violence and women have
  been killed in 60 thesee cases
  

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Reasons for domestic violence
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Lack of protective and preventive social services

• The Constitution of Azerbaijan Republic
  Guarantees right to social security for all
  citizens (Article 38)
  
• Due to constitution the family is the important
  part of the society and is under the special
  protection of the State (Article 17)

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Lack of protective and preventive social services

• The Government signed and ratified CEDAW in 1995
• The Consitution guarantees equality between men
  and women

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Lack of protective and preventive social services

• Family Planning
• Targeted Assistance to Needy Families which
  compiles all previous cash benefits and
  allowances to families under SPREAD
  
• State Committee on Problems of Women, Child and
  Family established in 2006

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Lack of legislation on domestic violence

• No legislation on domestic violence
• No mechanisms that would allow police to
  intervene during the violence

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Low level of awareness in the society especially
among women

• 52 of husbands considers beating as normal
• 24 of women believe that if they were beaten
  they deserved it
  

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Low level of awareness in the society especially
among women

• 36 of women found justification to their
  husbands' behavior
  
• Recent study by UNDP only 3 of women knew they
  could apply to police but nobody knew what to do
  during violence

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Patriarchal family traditions

• Patriarchal traditions in the society are
  remerging after collapse of USSR
  
• Mostly families live in extended families with
  mother, father in laws and other in laws

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Patriarchal family traditions

• Extended family members influence on decision
  making of the family
  
• Extended family members play an important role on
  reinforcing restrictions on women
  

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Recommendations

• Update and revise legislation on social services
  
  
• Adopt legislation on domestic violence
• Establish mechanism for eliminating violence

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Recommendations

• Establish preventive and protective social
  services by the government such as
  
• Shelters for battered family members (especially
  for women)
  
• 24 hours Hotline
• Family concealing centers
• Family therapy services

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Recommendations

• Prepare social workers to work with families
• Prepare women police
• Encourage NGOs to provide more protective and
  preventive services

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Recommendations

• Conduct huge public awareness campaign on
  domestic violence
  
• Conduct huge public awareness campaign on
  importance of protective and preventive social
  services